Both the LORAN transmitter and the meteorological station are located a few kilometres away from the settlement Olonkinbyen (Olonkin City), where all personnel live.

However, some authority over Jan Mayen has been assigned to the station commander of the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation, a branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

The only inhabitants on the island are personnel working for the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

It uses the Internet country code top-level domain (cc TLD) (is allocated but not used) and data code JN.

Jan Mayen has telephone and internet connection over satellite, using Norwegian telephone numbers (country code 47). It has a postal code, NO-8099 JAN MAYEN, but delivery time varies, especially during the winter.

Between the fifth and ninth centuries, numerous communities of monks originating in west Ireland navigated throughout the north Atlantic in leather boats, exploring and sometimes settling in distant islands where their monastic communities could be separated from close contact with others.

Strong indicators exist of their presence in the Faroe Islands and Iceland before the arrival of the Vikings, and medieval chronicles such as the famous "Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot" testify to the extensive interest in exploration at the time.In the 17th century, many claims of the island's rediscovery were made, spurred by the rivalry on the Arctic whaling grounds, and the island received many names.According to Thomas Edge, an early 17th-century whaling captain who was often inaccurate, "William [sic] Hudson" discovered the island in 1608 and named it "Hudson's Touches" (or "Tutches").The island is mountainous, the highest summit being the Beerenberg volcano in the north.The isthmus is the location of the two largest lakes of the island, Sørlaguna (South Lagoon), and Nordlaguna (North Lagoon).Jan Mayen Island is an integral part of the Kingdom of Norway.